Ryan S. Flahive's Posts - www.DiscGolfersR.Us2015-08-02T18:22:45ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahivehttp://api.ning.com/files/vlzj-gWGwajxRjfXZyHsQ1P0whrhDlGEUBrkbXOixy5ESpGD66qV*LlJlvxpwXd4E2w*UVXK3JbhNi89C*hYnV*M3*S-*Pk0/P1030406.JPG?width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://discgolfer.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=1f9y1xbjeyvtu&xn_auth=noMy Winning Essay for Marshall Street Disc Golftag:discgolfer.ning.com,2010-02-09:1809917:BlogPost:20912312010-02-09T17:14:05.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">It won me a $25 gift certificate!</span><br style="text-decoration: underline;"></br><br></br>Stop. Close your eyes. Imagine. You’re standing on a hill, surrounded by whispering leaves and swaying aspens while accompanied by two of your closest friends or perhaps your spouse and children. Three hundred feet away stands a dazzling yellow monolith glimmering in the sunlight; light bouncing from its stainless steel chains. You hold a single round object—it reminds…
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">It won me a $25 gift certificate!</span><br style="text-decoration: underline;"/><br/>Stop. Close your eyes. Imagine. You’re standing on a hill, surrounded by whispering leaves and swaying aspens while accompanied by two of your closest friends or perhaps your spouse and children. Three hundred feet away stands a dazzling yellow monolith glimmering in the sunlight; light bouncing from its stainless steel chains. You hold a single round object—it reminds you of Tron or of the beach—the motion is innate: reach back to the sky and heave towards the monolith. Imagine the pure glide of a disc in flight. Repeat. Repeat. Make Three. This is the game of disc golf.<br/><br/>Disc golf is a game of contrasts. Disc golf is a game of solitude and camaraderie, a game of technical physics and natural motion, a game of subtle challenges and fundamental simplicity.<br/><br/>Disc golf is a game for the masses. From young children to old geezers, the game of disc golf is affordable, accessible, and amenable. It is an opportunity for father and son to bond, for husband and wife to talk, for buddies to compete. No clubs to join, no fees to pay, no caddy to tip; just you, the disc, and the monolith.<br/><br/>Disc golf brings you closer to nature and promotes a healthy lifestyle. The fresh air, scurrying squirrels, and changing seasons offer even city-dwellers a chance to immerse themselves in their own Walden Pond.<br/><br/>Play disc golf. You will not be disappointed.A good start to the daytag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-07-24:1809917:BlogPost:18608892009-07-24T13:43:47.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
I went out to play an early 12 holes this morning at 5:30, as I do everyday before work and had a tremendous day.<br />
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Seven down, bogey free through on 12 holes with an ace--my second this in a month after a 6 year drought--not bad work for 5:30 in the morning.<br />
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Plan on 36 more this afternoon--hope to duplicate the effort.
I went out to play an early 12 holes this morning at 5:30, as I do everyday before work and had a tremendous day.<br />
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Seven down, bogey free through on 12 holes with an ace--my second this in a month after a 6 year drought--not bad work for 5:30 in the morning.<br />
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Plan on 36 more this afternoon--hope to duplicate the effort.The last two courses of the Vacation, The end of the Travel Blogtag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-24:1809917:BlogPost:18370972009-06-24T15:27:33.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
I finished my vacation with two different courses, making it a total of seven Colorado courses over the span of seven days. But more on the courses later. I would first like to address the last two courses I played.<br />
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The first was Ghost Town Country Club and Disc Golf Sanctuary. A private course, it came highly recommended...but you won't be recommended to play it by this author. The course offered an atmosphere and uniqueness unmatched in my 10 years of playing disc golf. It is built in the…
I finished my vacation with two different courses, making it a total of seven Colorado courses over the span of seven days. But more on the courses later. I would first like to address the last two courses I played.<br />
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The first was Ghost Town Country Club and Disc Golf Sanctuary. A private course, it came highly recommended...but you won't be recommended to play it by this author. The course offered an atmosphere and uniqueness unmatched in my 10 years of playing disc golf. It is built in the mountains south of the gambling town Central City along a line of old gold mining claims. The remnants of mining activity remain; old buildings, mineral tailings, and old equipment dot the course as it winds through the pines.<br />
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The course was $3 per person to play one round; $5 for 2 rounds. The owner Brian was amiable and kind and gave us good directions around the course (he ran out of maps the day before). The first 5 holes were very tight--too tight--only a thumber could clear the trees, but perhaps I'm not as accurate as they expect players to be. It was a matter of survival throughout these holes. It tended to open up on 7, then 9 onward. Some great views and shots were available, multiple tee boxes were offered; 15/16 were played on a duel fairway and teebox.<br />
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Here is my issue with this course. Too much OB. The course rules (painted on a rusted piece of mining equipment at the first hole) read "if you don't like OB, play somewhere else". I really don't mind OB--but I do mind this much OB; and its not the idea of OB that bothered me, its the reason the OB was there. It was meant to protect the neighbors property, which surrounded the course. The course seemed to me to be put together haphazardly wherever they could fit baskets (most of which were terrible, rusty, homemade baskets). Another issue with the course is the proximity to neighbors homes, vehicles, and property. There were specific strokes penalties assessed, e.i. "2 stroke penalty for hitting the house with white and red trim". This is ridiculous. The whole round you are worried about pissing off the neighbors and hitting somebody or going on their property (always labeled "no disc golfers beyond this point") not enjoying a round of golf.<br />
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All in all, I'm glad I played it, however, I won't be going back. It was good for a round--that's it. There are plenty of courses around that are free, are worry free in regards to hitting somebody's house, and are not so restrictive (a word in which I prescribe as an oxymoron towards the mantra of disc golf).<br />
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After getting back to the Denver area Saturday, my nephew and I decided to travel to Cottonwood Creek park in Colorado Springs. An obviously popular course in the center of town, it was well marked, easy to maneuver, and had a good mixture of holes. Few complaints with this course. There were plenty of holes to birdie and just as many that were difficult to deuce. My main concern with this course was the amount of players. We got there at 7 a.m.--by the time we left around 8:15, the course was almost full. Fairways seemed to cross each other and some tee boxes were in direct line of baskets from other holes. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who have caught a disc to the dome on that course.<br />
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SO...<br />
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In conclusion.<br />
My list, in descending order of the seven courses I played is as follows:<br />
1) Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area DGC<br />
2) Pioneer Park DGC, Hot Sulpher Springs, CO<br />
3) Expo Park, Aurora, CO<br />
4/5) Snow Mountain YMCA DGC, Tabernash, CO<br />
4/5) Cottonwood Creek Park DGC, Colorado Springs, CO<br />
6) Ghost Town Country Club and Disc Golf Sanctuary, Russell Gulch, CO<br />
7) David Lorentz Park, Lonetree, CO<br />
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overall, my main issue with all of the courses is lack of variety in basket locations...I only found one course of seven (cottonwood creek) that had more than one basket location.<br />
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There you have it. The end of my travel blog--but I have probably forgotten something and will repost other thoughts down the line.<br />
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One more thing, when I arrived back to Santa Fe and got back on my home course of Arroyo Chamiso, I discovered that it was as good or better than any of the seven courses I played in Colorado. It is longer, has a better variety of tees and basket locations, has good equipment, and is easy to get around.<br />
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Its good to be home.An Ace in the Face of Adversity: Travel Blog, Day Four, June 17tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-18:1809917:BlogPost:18304512009-06-18T14:33:10.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
The day began with disappointment.<br />
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We journeyed the short distance to Winter Park Resort to play their 10,000 foot course in the mid morning. We were prepared to hike the mountain to play (we're too cheap to pay $15 bucks per person to ride the life, and we needed the exercise). As we approached the staff running the lift to get a course map, we find out that the course is closed for redesign until July--that really sucked--I was looking forward to that course. The course is being redesigned…
The day began with disappointment.<br />
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We journeyed the short distance to Winter Park Resort to play their 10,000 foot course in the mid morning. We were prepared to hike the mountain to play (we're too cheap to pay $15 bucks per person to ride the life, and we needed the exercise). As we approached the staff running the lift to get a course map, we find out that the course is closed for redesign until July--that really sucked--I was looking forward to that course. The course is being redesigned to cover more are on the resort, another mountain that is, and from what I was told the course will be much better than it was. But I have trouble with the fact that they did not mention their redesign on their website. But...c'est la vie.<br />
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As we pondered what to do next, I looked at my list of courses within close driving distance and chose the Pioneer Park DGC in Hot Sulpher Springs, CO--about 10 miles west of Granby. A tiny town known for their, well, hot sulpher spring pools and spa, the course was not easy to find. But we had an angel looking over our shoulder.<br />
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I followed the signs to where I thought the course might be when a 1971 VW bus pulled up to us and said "you two looking for the disc golf course". The fellow was a bicycle mechanic named V.J. Valente Jr., the maintainace guy for the course and its main proponent in town. He gave us directions to the 'disc golfers only parking lot' about 1/8 mile up a dirt road, handed us a score card and some mosquito replant, and told us about the tournament they had last week. Its guys like V.J. that keep our sport what it is--dedicated volunteers who love the game and want to make the course better than it was the day before. Thank you V.J..<br />
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The Course ran in two figure eights along the Colorado River (its headwaters are about 50 miles northeast in Rocky Mountain National Park). Signage was good--V.J. had really tried hard to make it better for the tournament he held last weekend, so we showed up just at the right time. I'm particularly glad he gave us the mosquito replant--otherwise we would have been eaten alive. The vegetation was lush, lush, and thick. Underbrush, sagebrush, wildflowers, and towering cottonwood trees made this course very tight (and difficult to find a disc). The front nine was short, averaging about 250 ft per hole, but very tight--almost every shot required a tight Annie or forehand, but the latter was inefficient for most players I watched. The course had marshy water on it, unmarked on the maps and signage, and we had to dig our discs out of the muck once or twice, but at least they were located. I threw 3 down on the front and was feeling good...for now.<br />
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The back got a bit longer. My bogey free round went away on #12--a 350 foot shot that was well protected by lots of trees. Then came #13--it gave me nightmares last night--a 310 foot hole, the basket was about 40 feet to the left of the raging Colorado River. I took my trusty Scout (my go-to disc of 10 years) threw it; I thought it would be pin high and was looking for a bird. Little did I realize that the land was sloped towards the river, and my precious Scout took a right turn and bounced right into the river. The disc golf gods hath taken away. But as one friends noted, giving me some perspective on the situation, perhaps it was a sign. Needless to say, I was very, ahem, angry (this is a family blog).<br />
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Two bogeys in a row never sit well with me. But this was beyond angry. I walked over to 14, a 250 foot hole, with steam rolling from my ears. The shot was nerve racking. If you intended on throwing a heizer, you would have to cut the corner of the river--if you threw an annie, you risked putting your disc in the river as I had done the previous hole, as the river was less than 30 feet to the right of the basket. So I pulled a disc without thinking about it, threw it without thinking about it, and ca-ching--hit an ace. The Cheetah I threw cut the corner of the river that had just swallowed my favorite disc, caught a few breezes, and glided into the basket. The ace breaks a 6 year drought (I took about 5 years off between 2004-2009) and made me feel a little better about my scout.<br />
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I finished the round 2 down after a not-so-impressive back 9. But the commradorie, the ace, V.J., and the quality of the layout settled my nerves. I would recommend the course to anyone who is interested in how a very tiny community (under 1,000) supports a disc golf course and maintains it for others to play. It is off the beaten path...it is not highly rated...it does not have pdga concrete pads; but it does have charm, great natural features, and a lots of love put into it. We couldn't ask for more in a course on our vacation.Pine Beetles, a Dilapidated Forest, and Lots of Disc Golfers: Travel Blog, Day Three, June 16tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-17:1809917:BlogPost:18298752009-06-17T20:31:15.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
Trudging down the perilous Berthoud Pass from Winter Park, we embarked upon a day in the Frisco/Dillon/Silverthorne area; the Gateway to Summit County, Colorado. Our destination was Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area Disc Golf Course, consistently rated one the best courses in the state. It was our chance to test the theory.<br />
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We got there around 10 a.m., and by the time we got finished we were glad we didn't wait to get on any longer. The course began with very little fanfare--it was much more…
Trudging down the perilous Berthoud Pass from Winter Park, we embarked upon a day in the Frisco/Dillon/Silverthorne area; the Gateway to Summit County, Colorado. Our destination was Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area Disc Golf Course, consistently rated one the best courses in the state. It was our chance to test the theory.<br />
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We got there around 10 a.m., and by the time we got finished we were glad we didn't wait to get on any longer. The course began with very little fanfare--it was much more open than I imagined. The holes had great variation combining hiezers and anhiezers equally. Although there was only one tee box, the pars varied between 'amateur' and 'pro'--to tell you the truth, all of them should have been par 3's, even for amateurs. It was not a terribly difficult course, but as I understand, it is a shadow of its former self.<br />
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As I mentioned in my last blog post, the pine beetle has been on a rampage throughout the colorado forests; throughout western forests for that matter, creating a forestry and logging industry that cannot keep up with the business. This course was hit particularly hard. As you threw holes like 1, 4, and 10 you could see the tree stumps where towering pine trees once graced the mountainous skyline. The course would have been much tighter five years ago than it was yesterday.<br />
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The course seemed heavily played. It was very well marked and had some sort of seating on every hole. Lake Dillon skirted the course along the front 9 but did not come into play with the exception of one tee shot where you had to throw over about 30 feet of it from the tee. Not terribly intimidating.<br />
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Although I really enjoyed this course, one thing found me quite disturbed; the people were not friendly. That really bothered me; as a Colorado native, I take pride on Coloradans being the friendliest people in the union, bar none. But on this particular Tuesday morning, they let me down. To boot, the course was overrun with people when we finished 18--there were 4 groups waiting to tee off on #1 as we were leaving--that's not a trait in a golf course that I admire.<br />
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Regardless of the faults i nitpicked, the course was playable, enjoyable, and designed with rational thought and precision. I will go back and play it again if I have the chance--but hopefully the people will be singing a different tune when that day comes.<br />
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Caught "The Hangover" in a Dillon theater at the end of the day--I have not laughed that much since Clinton was in office.<br />
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Up next: Pioneer Park DGC at Sulfur Hot Springs along the Colorado River--Way finding, mixed baskets, and Zip Lines: Travel Blog Day Two, June, 15 2009tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-17:1809917:BlogPost:18294002009-06-17T13:13:55.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
After a day of much needed recovery at my brother's beautiful mountain home, I was once again ready to throw some discs into the vast unknown. My playing partner for the rest of the trip would be my wife of five years and my best friend of over eleven. When we first met in STL and the first 6 years we dated, we would play DG together several times a week. As a former college softball player, she is very athletic and her mechanics used to be impeccable. But as the kids came, she fell off the…
After a day of much needed recovery at my brother's beautiful mountain home, I was once again ready to throw some discs into the vast unknown. My playing partner for the rest of the trip would be my wife of five years and my best friend of over eleven. When we first met in STL and the first 6 years we dated, we would play DG together several times a week. As a former college softball player, she is very athletic and her mechanics used to be impeccable. But as the kids came, she fell off the boat; today would be the first day in over five years she had thrown a complete round.<br />
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The Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA course is north of Tabernash and south of Granby, CO. The place is huge; dozens of buildings, lodges, and administrative offices make up the smaller portion of the Rocky Mountain YMCA Complex which not only serves as a summer camp but also as a conference center. The course is located in the far northwest section of the Ranch. Quite hilly and wooded, the course meandered through the pine-beetle infected forest forcing shots uphill, downhill, straight, heizer, and anheizer--not to mention quite few thumbers to get out of trouble. The course played fairly short; the average hole was just over 300 feet--but many of them were tight shots where trouble lurked at every bend.<br />
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The oddest part about this course was its baskets. They were literally a mixed bag--it seemed to us that they were all donated just by looking at the variation, size, stickers, and other idenifiying marks on them. The baskets varied from brand new Discrafts to older red baskets of an unknown variety--some were in great shape, some were not--but they were there 22 of them to be exact. There were 2 practice baskets near the camp commons, roughly 1/2 miles from the course--and 20 holes. Its just good to see DG being introduced to young folk at in a formal camp setting.<br />
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As the title of this blog references, the way finding on this course was terrible, but that is part of the fun of playing a new course. Small wooden sticks with "# 3 this way" written on them led you through the ranch, over a couple creeks, and onto the dirt teeboxes. The course was very wet, mostly from the morning condensation, but from the continual thunderstorms that have rolled through this region every afternoon like clockwork.<br />
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The Zip Line--it was roughly 500 feet long, touching the tips of the pines--you could see it from most of the 20 holes and hear the yelps of the camp staff (not the campers) having a great time zipping through the forest. It never really came into play--only if you threw a really bad shot--which I did--I turned over an understable driver and still didn't get within 100 feet of them--so it was strategically placed. But it was a great distraction to the game we trudged through.<br />
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The best part of this course was the solitude. The only people we saw for 2 hours were the Zippers--not another player on the course--near the end we saw another couple just getting started around 12 noon--they got hit by a massive thunderstorm I assume. But nature and isolation were in harmony on this course. Despite the devastation caused to the Rocky Mountain forests by the pine beetle and the necessary logging industry that must follow, the course was beautiful. The wonderful Fraser Valley was a great place to begin our mountain journey.<br />
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Next up: Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area DG Course<br />
Winter Park Resort<br />
Pioneer Park DG Course, Sulfur Hot Springs<br />
Ghost Town Sanctuary, Russell Gulch<br />
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For those of you masochists who choose to read this drivel, stay tuned for more reports.Mud, Thistles, and Windy Days: Travel Blog, June 12th, 2009tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-16:1809917:BlogPost:18278432009-06-16T14:01:08.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
After a day of travel from Santa Fe to Parker, Colorado followed by two days of learning how to encode archival finding aids in XML, I was ready to throw some discs. I had been waiting for this chance for over a month--hoping to find a couple good quality courses in the south Denver area. My nephew, an incoming freshman quarterback at one of the D-1 Colorado universities in September is new to the game; but he was just as excited to get out and play with me as i was to get out and play. It was…
After a day of travel from Santa Fe to Parker, Colorado followed by two days of learning how to encode archival finding aids in XML, I was ready to throw some discs. I had been waiting for this chance for over a month--hoping to find a couple good quality courses in the south Denver area. My nephew, an incoming freshman quarterback at one of the D-1 Colorado universities in September is new to the game; but he was just as excited to get out and play with me as i was to get out and play. It was exactly his 4th time on a course and had just received as a graduation present from my mother a beginner set of discs--150 class--and a nice Innova bag.<br />
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After a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, we set out for our first DG destination: David Lorenz Park off of County Line and Holly Road. The park was disc golf only course, which was nice, but the deafening sound of the E-470 interstate was not only a distraction, but terribly annoying. The course was muddy; Colorado has had a very wet spring and early summer, and the course was terribly maintained. The weeds were thick and up to our knees; wet with condensation to boot; our shoes and socks were soaked by the 3rd hole.<br />
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The course was very straight forward. Some uphill, some downhill, plenty of OB with a creek running on the south and west edge of the park that came into play on 5 or 6 holes. After birdying holes 3 &amp; 4 I was feeling pretty good. Then came 5. Backhanding my DX Beast (I usually forehand the sucker) I turned it over and it floated 400 feet to the right--it looked safely in the center of a large field of weeds. Little to my knowldege there was a patch of nasty thistles--about 30 square feet of them--waiting for my favorite disc; needless to say, three of us gave up looking after about 20 minutes. It was a real downer. The next 4 holes had poison ivy in play--that was fun--while I struggled to make par the rest of the round. My backhand was off; my forehand was non-existant; and rollers were not an option. Despite the two early birds and several par putts over 30 feet, I had a terrible round--ready to move onto our second destination.<br />
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After a bit of breakfast we moved to Exposition Park in Aurora. This course had a fairly high rating and was mostly a short, open, grassy course with water in play several times. The tee boxes were to die for; perfect concrete pads, narrow in the back--wider in the front--with the hole # and distance imprinted in the concrete. It was really nice to play on grass--something I haven't done in several years. The course followed a clockwise rotation around three lakes which made for a wonderful change. Most of the holes were very shot--250-375 feet--but many of them had the lakes no further than 10 paces from the baskets--risk reward at its finest. There were several ace run holes and I heard lots of chains get rattled from the many groups of dedicated frolfers playing the course. Walkers, runners, bikers, and other pedestrians littered the walking path that meandered throughout the course--but they were good spectators, cheering good shots and boosting spirits on poor ones.<br />
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Still reeling from the loss of my Beast, I threw OK; It could have been much better. I had 4 birds bounce out of the chains while the lake intimidated me to lay up on more than a few holes. All in all, the Expo Park course was fun, casual, and a great course for a leisurely round of DG. Unlike David Lorenz Park, I would recommend the course to anyone visiting the Denver area. A few photos of each course are located on my page.<br />
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It was then off to one of the local disc retailers, Dog Leg Discs, only a few blocks from Expo. This was a great store--they sold every manufacturer, great minis, helpful staff, and were easy going and great to work with. Its always a pleasure to find a disc-golf only store in the area. I bought a new cheetah and valk to make up for losing my beast--we shall see what the outcome of that might be.<br />
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That evening was off the hook--left the kids with grandma and went to the Electric Daisy Carnival--a electronic music festival hosting a full complement of carnival amenities and 7,000 kids of all walks of life--at 30 i thought I'd feel old--but the vibe hadn't changed since my last party in 2003--the music was great, the vibe was better, and the people we met were phenomenal. We left the party at 3 a.m. after being there for 6 hours--and drove 2 hours to Winter Park--where we crashed.<br />
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Tune in next time for my report on Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA course north of Tabernash, CO we played Monday, June 15.To begin a journey...tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-06-09:1809917:BlogPost:18201212009-06-09T21:30:00.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
Tomorrow, I embark upon a tumultuous journey...full of work, family, parties, and disc golf. From Santa Fe we are off to Denver for a work training that will keep my mind occupied until Saturday, whence I shall begin my trek. Without the children, my wife and I will enjoy a late night party smorgasbord at the Electric Daisy Carnival--after that it is to Winter Park for 6 days of mountainous vacation.<br />
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The Winter Park home is no further than 20 miles from great mountain disc golf. Winter Park…
Tomorrow, I embark upon a tumultuous journey...full of work, family, parties, and disc golf. From Santa Fe we are off to Denver for a work training that will keep my mind occupied until Saturday, whence I shall begin my trek. Without the children, my wife and I will enjoy a late night party smorgasbord at the Electric Daisy Carnival--after that it is to Winter Park for 6 days of mountainous vacation.<br />
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The Winter Park home is no further than 20 miles from great mountain disc golf. Winter Park resort will be the first on our list, climbing to over 10,500 feet to play a 12,000 foot monster amidst the clouds. The Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA in Tabernash, Pioneer Park DGC in Sulfur Springs, and Frisco Peninsula course are soon to follow with Adventure Ridge at Vail Resort to finish a week of flicks and backhands; triumphs and missed opportunities.<br />
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To be sure, the week will be great, as it is the first time in over 4 years that we have been able to go on holiday without our two munchkins. The solitude glorious; the air thin; the beer cold; the golf divine; reunion savory.<br />
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For those of you unlucky enough to read up to this point...Stay tuned for reports.Disc Golf Friendstag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-05-28:1809917:BlogPost:17903982009-05-28T12:36:25.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
Its hard to say. Do we take our non-disc golfing friends out for a leisurely (yet frustrating) loop or do we try to contact better players for which we are simply acquaintances? On one hand, you have to be loyal to your closest peeps. An example: One day, at Creve Coeur park in St. Louis I decided to take 4-5 of my closest non-disc golfing friends to the extremely long (about 10,000 feet), yet very flat, park that sits adjacent to one of the largest lakes in the area. Needless to say, on this…
Its hard to say. Do we take our non-disc golfing friends out for a leisurely (yet frustrating) loop or do we try to contact better players for which we are simply acquaintances? On one hand, you have to be loyal to your closest peeps. An example: One day, at Creve Coeur park in St. Louis I decided to take 4-5 of my closest non-disc golfing friends to the extremely long (about 10,000 feet), yet very flat, park that sits adjacent to one of the largest lakes in the area. Needless to say, on this spring day, it was windy--about 25 mph gusts. Despite the conditions and my mates, I threw well...about -2 playing all the holes as par 3's (even though about 5 holes were long par 4's). However, the round took forever; my friends got frustrated with the wind and quit after 9, and I was discouraged. But the camaraderie made up for my disappointment.<br />
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On the filpside. On the other side of the burbs in STL, the other long but not so flat course at Sioux Passage park, I drove out by myself. It was easily a 40 minute drive from where I was living. Pulling up to #1, I ran into some acquaintances I had played a few rounds with here and there in the area--they were a lot better than me--and I had a tremendous round. They taught me things nobody had ever mentioned before--that my arm speed was where I was getting my distance from, but that my footwork and body position was holding me back. That round and advise has stuck with me since that summer day in 2001.<br />
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Despite the digression, my point is this: play with both. It is difficult to play with friends who will drag down your game--yet it is important to introduce the game to them--they may become better than you in time. On the other hand, get out and play with complete strangers; don't hesitate to call the guys who run your local leauge and ask for a round; be persistant. Your game will be better for it.<br />
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Disc golf is a social game. It involves chatting, laughing, and sighing as a group. Enjoy it with everybody.At a disc golf course far far away....tag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-05-24:1809917:BlogPost:17859202009-05-24T17:30:00.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
White Birch Park, Hazelwood, Missouri--a suburb of the Dirty Lou. The first course built in Missouri c. 1979 was my introduction to the wonderful world of disc golf. The year was around 1999, and I was a sophomore in college at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. A ball-golfer since the age of five, I found during college that golf was a very expensive and time-consuming enterprise for a college student. I couldn't get on a course to save my life. Disc golf filled that void for me that…
White Birch Park, Hazelwood, Missouri--a suburb of the Dirty Lou. The first course built in Missouri c. 1979 was my introduction to the wonderful world of disc golf. The year was around 1999, and I was a sophomore in college at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. A ball-golfer since the age of five, I found during college that golf was a very expensive and time-consuming enterprise for a college student. I couldn't get on a course to save my life. Disc golf filled that void for me that spring.<br />
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Disc golf tends to bring, ahem, like minded people together. So I joined a few friends to play White Birch. Its a tight, short, heavily wooded course and is one of the most popular courses in St. Louis. Always full, the course was very tight--if you were teeing off at two, you could chat with the guys putting on three--and so forth. Its the only course i've ever played with an 'atmosphere'. Combination disc bag/cooler/radios were abundant; the sounds of Zepplin, the Dead, and Phish filled the air with conflicting tones. Playing the round seemed secondary to drinking beers and burning bowls. Those were the days.<br />
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The Birch was great for socializing but bad for your game. Always predisposed with the next jibber and wondering when you would get hit with a errant disc. But it did show me that disc golf, unlike ball golf, was an egalitarian game--anyone was welcome to play and everyone (with a few exceptions) was welcoming, warm, and kind. A trait that fueled my desire to play more and more and more.Introductiontag:discgolfer.ning.com,2009-05-24:1809917:BlogPost:17858782009-05-24T14:46:02.000ZRyan S. Flahivehttp://discgolfer.ning.com/profile/RyanSFlahive
Blogs? Usually not for me; I do enough writing in my profession. But this is different; I decided to write of my experiences and love for disc golf. If you read it, fine. If not, nothing lost and nothing gained. I hope my stories, hopes, aspirations, and disappointments entertain you and maybe offer insight.
Blogs? Usually not for me; I do enough writing in my profession. But this is different; I decided to write of my experiences and love for disc golf. If you read it, fine. If not, nothing lost and nothing gained. I hope my stories, hopes, aspirations, and disappointments entertain you and maybe offer insight.